Wednesday, 11 December 2013 15:36
Cardy's IFA Centre to be reborn as affinity body
An association which represents independent financial advisers will close as a trade body due to a lack of members – but will continue to operate as an affinity group.
Gill Cardy, the founder of the IFA Centre, told Financial Planner Online that IFA Centre will survive but in a different form.
Low membership has meant it is no longer financially viable for her to continue in its current state.
She said: "The bit that closes is the formal representative function but the organisation itself will keep running for as long people find value in it."
The IFA centre will be a, "focal point of material and resources to help and support the IFA community." It will act in future as an affinity group for like-minded people enthusiastic about independence but it can no longer claim it is a representative body, she said.
The "IFA brand will stay alive" and people can still join as members, she added.
She said: "Membership subscriptions from 102 member firms representing 240 individuals simply doesn't provide financial resources for me to devote all my time to protecting advisers' interests.
"Worse, saying that I represent 2 per cent of IFAs hardly gives me a decisive mandate to claim that I represent the other 98 per cent of the Independent advice community."
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Ms Cardy, who launched IFA Centre as a not-for-profit membership organisation in September 2011, said the move has left her with mixed emotions.
She said: "Those I meet at the FCA, FSCS, TSC, APPG and Parliament ascribe huge importance to IFA Centre speaking up for independent advice, showing how much it really is universally valued. More importantly, they know, arguably more than advisers themselves, that advisers need a strong and knowledgeable advocate."
Her work over the past two years has included organising events nationwide to help members with independence, adviser charging, investment propositions, RMAR requirements, and other subjects including ETFs and VAT.
Ms Cardy is now looking forward to a new role as head of practice development at ValidPath, which she described as "one of the few networks 100 per cent committed to independence".
This will allow her to continue to provide support for IFA Centre members in new and different ways, she added.
Gill Cardy, the founder of the IFA Centre, told Financial Planner Online that IFA Centre will survive but in a different form.
Low membership has meant it is no longer financially viable for her to continue in its current state.
She said: "The bit that closes is the formal representative function but the organisation itself will keep running for as long people find value in it."
The IFA centre will be a, "focal point of material and resources to help and support the IFA community." It will act in future as an affinity group for like-minded people enthusiastic about independence but it can no longer claim it is a representative body, she said.
The "IFA brand will stay alive" and people can still join as members, she added.
She said: "Membership subscriptions from 102 member firms representing 240 individuals simply doesn't provide financial resources for me to devote all my time to protecting advisers' interests.
"Worse, saying that I represent 2 per cent of IFAs hardly gives me a decisive mandate to claim that I represent the other 98 per cent of the Independent advice community."
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Ms Cardy, who launched IFA Centre as a not-for-profit membership organisation in September 2011, said the move has left her with mixed emotions.
She said: "Those I meet at the FCA, FSCS, TSC, APPG and Parliament ascribe huge importance to IFA Centre speaking up for independent advice, showing how much it really is universally valued. More importantly, they know, arguably more than advisers themselves, that advisers need a strong and knowledgeable advocate."
Her work over the past two years has included organising events nationwide to help members with independence, adviser charging, investment propositions, RMAR requirements, and other subjects including ETFs and VAT.
Ms Cardy is now looking forward to a new role as head of practice development at ValidPath, which she described as "one of the few networks 100 per cent committed to independence".
This will allow her to continue to provide support for IFA Centre members in new and different ways, she added.
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